The Texas Department of Transportation is using a "hot mix" of asphalt to fix potholes that popped up across North Texas after last week's heavy rains.
Usually this time of year, they use a "cold mix" to patch the potholes, but that doesn't work as well as the hot mix, which is more permanent, said TxDOT spokesman Val Lopez.
"Usually in the winter it's too cold to work with," Lopez said. "However today we have some good weather. We're taking advantage of that, and we're filling them up with some hot mix."
In most cases, crews will come back in the spring to patch them up even more.
In icy weather, like parts of North Texas saw last week, potholes happen when water seeps under the pavement, freezes and expands.
"During rainy weather, something similar happens," Lopez said. "Water does get in there. If you get enough water, it will displace the pavement as well."
And just when crews repair existing pot holes, new ones form elsewhere. With more rain in this week's forecast, that is almost a certainty.
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Meanwhile, the assistant city manager in Dallas is promising to fix all the new potholes from the recent heavy rain, but he told the city council that things need to dry out before the city's 17 two-person road crews can assess how much damage there is.
The city also contracted five more crews that can fill about 50 potholes a day.
